AbstractWe compute the power spectrum of the stochastic gravitational wave background generated by cosmic string networks, described by the velocity-dependent one-scale (VOS) model for a wide range of macroscopic and microscopic parameters. The VOS model—which has been shown to provide an accurate macroscopic description of the evolution of cosmic string networks—is used to demonstrate that cosmic string networks are unable to rapidly attain scale-invariant evolution after the transition between the radiation and matter eras. However, in computations of the stochastic gravitational wave background, it is often assumed that the networks experience scale-invariant evolution throughout cosmological history. We demonstrate that this assumption leads to an underestimation of the amplitude and broadness of the peak of the spectrum. As a result, the total energy density of gravitational waves at the present day obtained using the VOS model may be up to 70% larger than that obtained under the linear scaling assumption.